


Catch a Break

by DeeChicagoFireFan



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26158189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeChicagoFireFan/pseuds/DeeChicagoFireFan
Summary: Brett is in danger and Casey starts to think that his life might be jinxed.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 9
Kudos: 84





	Catch a Break

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> We finally got a premiere date!!!!! I'm soooo excited, I can't wait to see new brettsey scenes!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one 🙂

It's past 11pm, and the members of firehouse 51 are trying get some shut-eye before their shift ends. Sylvie is lying on her bed, and sees the light on in the captain's quarters.

Sylvie and Matt are only a few weeks into their relationship, but she has never felt this blissful her whole life. She senses that Matt has something on his mind lately, that he isn't really ready to talk about. She doesn't want to push him, she knows he will tell her in his own time, and leaves it alone. They have always talked about everything, and they are always honest with eachother. For now, she just wants to check up on him, so she gets up and walks over and opens his door.

"Hey, can't sleep?" Sylvie asks, looking a little concerned.

"Yeah, I just have a lot of paperwork to finish. It's gonna take a while," Matt replies, putting his pen down and rubbing his hands over his eyes.

She can see that he's tired and wants to make him feel a little better, so she comes up from behind and puts her arms around his neck, and kisses his cheek lightly. "Anything I can do to help?"

He takes her hand and gives it a kiss. "Thanks, Sylvie. But at least one of us should get some sleep," he says.

"Okay, I'm right here if you need anything," she says, as she runs her fingers through his hair.

He pulls her around and turns his chair so that they're facing eachother, and kisses her. "I know, now go get some sleep," he says, gratefully.

She's about to leave when the bells go off, and everyone wakes up and starts to get ready.

"Well, it looks like neither of us are going to get sleep tonight," Sylvie smiles at him, and heads out.

They are called to a house that's on fire. A man, in his forties, is standing outside, and runs towards the firemen once they arrive and pleads, "My wife, she's still inside, please help her!" Matt asks him if there's anyone else inside and he shakes his head and starts to cry.

Sylvie comes up to the man and guides him towards the ambulance. "Sir, were you inside when the fire started? Let me take a look at you."

"I was in the kitchen downstairs, getting some water and the whole first floor caught fire. My wife was sleeping in our room upstairs, you have to help her! Please!" he cries again.

"We're going to do everything we can. Our best men are on it," she says reassuringly. "Can you tell me your name?" She's checking his breathing anyway, just to make sure he's okay.

"Bryan Harris," he replies, and gets up from the rig and sits down on the curb across his house. He cradles his face in his palms and Sylvie puts her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "They will get her out, don't worry."

She gets the gurney ready and waits with her partner outside the house. A few minutes later, Matt and Severide carry the wife out, and she looks severely burned.

Sylvie starts to work on her with Lin. "Mrs. Harris, stay with us. We're going to take care of you."

"There was something off about that fire, Casey," Severide says, suspiciously. "I don't think it was an accident."

"Do you think the husband could have anything do with it?" Matt asks, and looks at the woman with a heavy heart.

"Maybe, I'll come back here in a few hours and check it out," Severide says, and gets back to his rig.

Matt watches as Sylvie tries to intubate the patient. He can't take his eyes off her, as thoughts begin to run through his mind. He knows he has an incredible thing going with her, but he knows that life always bites him in the ass whenever things are going well. He was finally in a good place with Hallie when she was taken him from. He and Gabby were trying to start a family when she left him. Whatever he had with Naomi literally went up in flames too. Things with Sylvie are different though. He has found a true partnership with her, and it is the most stable romantic relationship he has ever had. And he'll be damned if anything happens to it. He hopes the universe finally gives him a break.

Once Sylvie announces that the patient is stable enough to be transported, Matt helps her load the patient into the amubulance, and Lin goes to the driver's seat.

"Mr. Harris, you can ride with us!" Sylvie calls, looking back at the curb where he went to sit, only to find that he's gone.

"That's strange, he was right here," Sylvie says pointing to the curb.

"I'll see if he's around here somewhere," Matt responds.

"Okay if you find him, let him know we're dropping her off at Med." Sylvie gets into the ambulance and they look at eachother and smile lightly before Matt closes the doors. He taps on the rig to let Lin know that she can drive.

Back at the firehouse, Matt is waiting for her outside.

"Hey, how's the victim doing?" Matt asks, as they go inside.

"Her life is hanging by a thread, Matt. Did you find her husband? I didn't see him arrive at the hospital."

"Nope, it's like he vanished into thin air," Matt replies, throwing his hands up.

"Is it true, what Severide said? That the fire was not an accident?" Sylvie asks, her voice wavering.

"It could explain why he fled scene. It's such an inhumane thing to do to his wife, try to burn her alive while she's asleep," Matt replies, grimacing.

"But he looked so devastated when I was talking to him," Sylvie says, looking a little puzzled. "It looks like he put on a good show for us."

"Yeah, let's hope his wife pulls through. Severide said he's going to check out the scene later. We'll know more then," Matt says and they head into his quarters.

Sylvie can't stop thinking about the poor woman, so she stays up with Matt the rest of the night. At the crack of dawn, Sylvie checks her watch and says, "Oh, it's almost end of shift. I'm going to go restock the ambulance for third watch." She gets up, gives Matt a quick kiss and goes outside.

While she's arranging supplies, squad returns. Sylvie catches Severide while the others head inside, "Hey, did you find anything back at the house?"

"Oh yeah, the fire was definitely not an accident. I took pictures of the scene on my phone, it has enough evidence. I'm going to go write up a report now," Severide replies. "How was the victim when you dropped her off?"

"She's in pretty bad shape, I'll swing by Med after shift and check on how she is doing. So everything points to the husband?" Sylvie asks. She really wanted to give the husband the benefit of the doubt but her blood is boiling now. She mentally chastises herself for falling for his charade at the scene and how she actually felt bad for him.

"No one else was at home at the time the fire started, so I'm almost certain he's responsible. I'm going to submit my report to OFI and let CPD know, so they can catch the son of a bitch," Severide says, grinding his teeth.

Sylvie nods and Severide turns to go inside. She resumes restocking the ambulance, when she sees a man entering the firehouse. She immediately recognises him. It's Bryan Harris.

"Hey!" she shouts as she walks up to him. "You know your wife is fighting for her life at the hospital? Where the hell did you go?" There's bitterness in her voice. 

Severide stops and turns around to see who she's talking to.

Bryan completely ignores her and looks around, speaking only when his eyes land on Severide.

"You! What were you and your guys doing at my house just now?" he shouts, pointing his finger at Severide.

"Gathering evidence, to incriminate you for trying to kill your wife," Severide states matter-of-factly, as he slowly walks towards the man.

"From what I hear, I didn't succeed. And what happens between my wife and I, is none of your damn business!" he spits, clearly furious.

"It became my business when you set your house on fire," Severide retorts as he narrows his eyes at Bryan and sneers.

Sylvie crosses her arms in front of her chest, and watches the exchange between the two men. She's still pissed at Mr. Harris, and she's glowering at him.

"I need you to handover whatever evidence you have, and change whatever you're going to write in your report," Bryan says, still speaking at a high decibel, with a little panic in his eyes now.

"Why would I do that?" Severide asks, shaking his head lightly.

Bryan pulls out a gun from behind him, and points it at Severide. "Do it, or else I'm going to shoot you!" He starts to become unhinged.

Sylvie gasps and takes a step back, putting her hands up in front of her defensively.

Severide puts one hand up, and reaches for his phone in his pocket with his other and says, "Okay man, calm down. No one needs to get hurt. I'll give you the evidence, here," He looks at Sylvie, concerned for her safety. She looks back at him with worry.

Bryan assumes Severide is reaching for his phone to call the cops, and yells, "Don't do anything stupid!" He lunges forward and quickly grabs Sylvie by her arm, moves her in front of him and points the gun to her head.

Sylvie shrieks as she's yanked away. Severide rushes towards them but he's too far away, and Bryan is too fast. "Don't call the cops or else I'm going to blow her brains out!" Bryan is fuming. He puts his free arm around her neck and tightens his hold.

"Hey! Let her go! This has nothing to do with her man. The evidence is on my phone, I'm just going to take it out and place it on the ground. I'm not calling anyone," Severide says, raising his voice, but trying to remain calm.

Sylvie tries to reason with him too. "You don't have to do this Mr. -"

"Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear another word from you," he snaps at her and digs the gun into her head. Sylvie flinches and then gulps. She can't think of a way out of this situation, so she closed her eyes and thinks about Matt.

In his quarters, Matt hears Sylvie's scream and the voice of another man shouting at her. He tenses up, and then runs out to the nearest window to see what is happening.

The others who heard the scream are heading outside to help. Matt looks out the window and terror flashes across his face. He sees Sylvie being held at gun point by the victim's husband, who looks very unstable right now and Severide is trying to talk him down. He stops the others from going outside, "Hey, this man is already on edge. If he sees all of us ganging up, it might push him into doing something worse."

Damn it! Matt can't believe this is happening. He can't catch a break! What did he do to deserve this bad luck? He doesn't deserve it. Sylvie doesn't deserve it. He can't lose her like this.

Stella puts her hand on the window glass, looking terrified, "We have to do something!"

"What do we do? Should we call the police?" Cruz speaks up, looking extremely worried about his friends. 

"That might rattle him too, and we don't have that much time," Matt says, as he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration and thinks for a second.

He reaches dispatch on his radio, and then goes outside carefully. He tells everyone else to stay put.

"Be careful!" Stella calls after him. Now she has three people she cares about in danger.

"Hey what's going on out here?" Matt asks, calmly.

Bryan temporarily releases the gun from Sylvie's head and points it at Matt. Sylvie opens her eyes hearing his voice.

"Don't come any closer, or else I'm gonna shoot her," he says, and points it at her head again, and moves one step back with her.

Sylvie looks at Matt, with tears welling up in her eyes. He silently communicates with her, and tries to tell her everything is going to be okay. He and Severide briefly exchange looks, and nod ever so slightly.

Just then, the bells go off.

ALL UNITS RESPOND. FIREHOUSE 51.

Bryan is startled by the sound. He looks up to see where it is coming from and releases the gun from Sylvie's head and points it upwards, and loosens his hold on her.

Sylvie uses the opportunity to stomp on his foot and then elbow him in the chest with all her rage. He groans in pain as he loses his balance and falls back. Severide sprints towards the man, pins him down and kicks the gun out his hand. Cruz runs outside to help his lieutenant.

"Got him!" Severide confirms.

Matt and Sylvie run towards eachother and embrace, holding on to one another tightly. "He tried to kill his wife and he wanted to kill me too!" she whimpers into his chest.

"Shhh, it's okay, you're safe now. He won't get away with it," he says gently, while stroking the back of her head. He closes his eyes in relief and holds on to her.

Severide and Cruz tie him up to the firetruck and call the cops, and walk over to Sylvie and Matt. "Nice work, Brett. And I'm so sorry you got caught up in the middle of this," Severide says, looking a little guilty. "I got the evidence from the house, and this guy wanted to get rid of it. That's why I think he followed us here," he explains to Matt.

Sylvie turns around to face Severide, but Matt still keeps one arm wrapped around her. "It's alright, it wasn't your fault. That man clearly needs help," she says, looking over at Bryan. Severide and Matt nod at eachother with relief, as everyone else from the firehouse starts to walk outside to make sure Sylvie is okay. Cruz gives Sylvie a big bear hug, "I'm so glad you're okay!" Sylvie smiles quietly back at him, still a little shaken from the whole incident.

Stella wraps her arms around Severide, smiling at him proudly, and then moves to envelop Sylvie in a hug. "Brett, you had me worried!"

"I'm okay now," Sylvie assures Stella.

The police arrive soon after and take Bryan into custody.

"Thank you for creating the distraction," Sylvie says looking up at Matt, after everyone has left.

"Hey, this was all you, you were amazing. I'm so proud of how you handled yourself," Matt says smiling with pride at her, and pulls her in for a hug. She never ceases to impress him. He can't seem to get enough of her touch, and he doesn't want to let go.

"You sure you're okay?" he asks, softly speaking into her ear.

"As long as you're here, I'm always going to be okay," Sylvie says, hugging him tighter, because she has always found solace in his arms.

"Listen, I know you have noticed that something has been eating away at me, and I want to thank you for not pushing me to talk about it," Matt says, pulling away slowly and looking into her eyes.

Sylvie nods in understanding, and lets him continue.

"My life has just been one curveball after another. And what I have with you means everything to me, I just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I mean, you saw what happened today," He says, hanging his head, looking defeated.

Sylvie cups his face and holds it up. "Hey, I get why you would feel that way. But your life isn't doomed, Matt." Sylvie tilts her head, smiles fondly at him, and holds her gaze. "All the things that you have been through, have only helped you become such a strong, caring, and incredible person. I know you can handle anything life throws at you now, and I will always be by your side, through it all. We're in this together," she tells him honestly. She doesn't want him to live life always expecting the worst to happen. Yes, the worst has happened, and it could happen again, but she knows there are also a lot of things to look forward to.

"You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Thank you," he smiles affectionately, and kisses her. He feels like a weight has suddenly been lifted off his shoulders. It really helps to be with someone who is as sweet, and optimistic as Sylvie Brett. She's always looking on the bright side of things.

Maybe the universe isn't so cruel after all, he thinks. He doesn't need to keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. At least not with her. Matt takes in a deep breath, knowing he has finally caught a break and smiles to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated 🙂


End file.
